Depending upon how pedantic you want to be - only Imperial stouts qualify as "Imperial" because they were produced for the Russian Imperial Court. Everyone else using "Imperial" is wrong!

Ok, but if you're going to be relaxed about the world and look askance at the pedant, then really there's no hard guidelines except to say - "It's Imperial if it is bigger than you'd expect the base style to be" (i.e. the OG is above the OG range of the base style)

To add to this conversation, on another thread I read someone attempting to brew an Imperial Pilsner. I wondered about the Imperial and thought, isn't that just a Bond Bock, or a Helles. I have never heard of an Imperial Pilsner, is this just a fancy term used to stimulate curiosity?

« Last Edit: May 29, 2010, 11:59:05 PM by pyrite »

Logged

If you don't get in over your head, how are you ever going to know how tall you are.

To add to this conversation, on another thread I read someone attempting to brew an Imperial Pilsner. I wondered about the Imperial and thought, isn't that just a Bond Bock, or a Helles. I have never heard of an Imperial Pilsner, is this just a fancy term used to stimulate curiosity?

Exactly right. The term Imperial has really just been reduced to being a marketing gimmick by the micro industry (and even the bigs are starting to use it too). "Double" (as in DIPA) is another overused one that never fails to make me chuckle.

To add to this conversation, on another thread I read someone attempting to brew an Imperial Pilsner. I wondered about the Imperial and thought, isn't that just a Bond Bock, or a Helles. I have never heard of an Imperial Pilsner, is this just a fancy term used to stimulate curiosity?

There's a few out there. To my mind, an Impy Pils has more strength than a Maibock and a hell of a lot more hops. So while in general "Imperial" and "Double" are just eye catchers, this one does indicate something a little different that you won't typically find even with the "Strong" European Golden Lagers.

ETA: Actually, there's an "imperial"esque mild recipe going in my next article right now, but it's not as absurd as it seems on the face of it since Mild's really did use to be strong beers, they just weren't very hoppy or aged.

I have heard a couple of "'Imperial Milds" lately and laugh at the oxymoron that it is.

Other than the fact that the term "Imperial" itself has become something of a cliche these days, the fact is that historically the term "mild" had nothing whatsoever to do with the strength of the brew (and according to more than one researcher, some of the original 'milds' didn't even have reduced hop rates). "Mild" meant only that the beer wasn't tart from extended age.

I have heard a couple of "'Imperial Milds" lately and laugh at the oxymoron that it is.

Other than the fact that the term "Imperial" itself has become something of a cliche these days, the fact is that historically the term "mild" had nothing whatsoever to do with the strength of the brew (and according to more than one researcher, some of the original 'milds' didn't even have reduced hop rates). "Mild" meant only that the beer wasn't tart from extended age.